The Care and Feeding Of
by mimma
Summary: Halfway through his tenth burger and Aomine's fourth, listening with only a half an ear towards that bastard's constant grumble of thought with the occasional hurmph of ingestion thrown in, Kagami realized that he was, in fact, actually dating Aomine Daiki.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

Halfway through his tenth burger and Aomine's fourth, listening with only a half an ear towards that bastard's constant grumble of thought with the occasional _hurmph_ of ingestion thrown in, Kagami realized that he was, in fact, actually dating Aomine Daiki.

"Fuck me," he said, involuntarily, and then his brain caught up with his mouth and choked him.

"What?" said Aomine, pausing mid-chew, watching Kagami asphyxiate without even a twitch towards offering him some soda or something. "You forget something?"

"Er," said Kagami. "Yes. I- my-" He took a deep breath. "I have a test tomorrow."

"So?" said Aomine, instantly losing interest.

"So I need to study," said Kagami. "So I…can't play basketball with you tonight," and when had it become a _thing_, that he and Aomine would do a pick-up game twice or thrice a week, and catch dinner afterwards, then hang out so long that they'd need to get supper too?

Aomine slurped his shake, and Kagami was disgusted to find that he knew that Aomine was doing that to hide a pout which twisted his face into something actually cute, and even more disgusted that apparently he'd mentally classified one of Aomine's faces 'cute'.

"Just borrow Tetsu's notes and read them," he suggested. "You can't be _that_ stupid."

"I'm not stupider than you," snapped Kagami. "Kuroko's busy all today, remember that's why Momoi dumped you on me- so-" Light dawned, bright and brilliant.

"So we can't interrupt their date, yeah," said Aomine. "Are you _really_ that stupid? Even Murasakibara knows, and he isn't interested in anything he can't put in his mouth."

"No-" and hadn't it been _obvious_ that Momoi was getting a bit more hope out of Kuroko than he'd apparently showed all three years of middle school, and she was dumping Aomine on someone every chance they got, because apparently he was incapable of his own care and feeding, but Aomine didn't really need to be watched 24/7, he just liked to act like it. "It's just- I need to study, that's all!"

"…what about my croquettes," he said, unhappily.

"Make your own damn croquettes," said Kagami. "Or go back to bumming them off your teammate."

"I don't like Ryou's croquettes," said Aomine. "You said you'd make them."

"I didn't say anything like that!" said Kagami. "You just assumed on your own!" Except that he _had_ been planning on making them that night, whether he'd said or not, because eating out all the time got expensive and Aomine tended to complain less when he got what he wanted to eat- Kagami had to get out of here.

He gathered his last three burgers. "Look, you- do whatever. I'm going. I need to study. -Bye."

He ran and did not look back.

.0.

Kagami's phone rang, and he answered it. "Did you and Dai-chan have a fight?" chirped Momoi's disapproving voice from the speaker.

"No," Kagami said. "Damn you." He hung up.

It rang again. "So you really did have a fight," said Kuroko.

"NO WE DIDN'T," yelled Kagami.

"He was waiting on the train steps for us," said Kuroko, neutrally. "He hadn't eaten anything. He'd been there since the afternoon. We don't have a test tomorrow."

"That idiot," said Kagami, and blamed himself. Wait, what was he doing? "He's in high school, shouldn't he be able to take care of himself?"

Kuroko answered this point with silence. Judgy, judgy silence. "You were going to spend the day together," he said, when he decided that Kagami had had enough of writhing in his own guilt. "You had a-" he stopped.

"…you were going to say date, weren't you," said Kagami. "Kuroko you bastard, how long have-"

"Don't blame Tetsu-kun," said Momoi. That coward had passed it back to her. "We're not the ones who forced you to cook for him. We're not the ones who forced you to play basketball with him after hours. We're not even the ones who suggested that you two watch taped NBA matches together! That was all you."

Kagami sputtered. "It's not- it wasn't- it's just that it's hard to leave him alone!"

"Yes," said Momoi, and Kagami remembered Momoi coming straight to the enemy, crying in the rain, and the weight of their history crashing down on Kuroko like a wave. "But once you do, you have to be responsible! It's like having a pet! He needs you."

"Why does it have to be me?" Kagami said. "I thought it was just you two! THIS IS NOT MY FAULT."

"I think he's going to catch a cold now," said Momoi, severely. "You owe him an explanation! He was really looking forward to those croquettes!"

Kagami tried to rub his migraine out by force. "Does he know?" he asked.

"Tetsu-kun thought you two might get along well," said Momoi, innocently.

"No," said Kagami. "I mean Aomine. Does he _know_?"

Kuroko came onto the line. "Kagami-kun," he said.

"I suppose that means no, then," said Kagami. "I'm going to get you for this, do you understand? Someday. Somehow."

Kuroko let the pause fill the spaces between tolerance, disdain, and a touch of contempt. "Fix it up with Aomine-kun tomorrow," he said, and hung up.

.0.

Kagami lay on his back and didn't try to get to sleep until he realized that he was staying up waiting for one of Aomine's random-ass late night text messages, and then he tried very hard to get to sleep, but couldn't. They really were dating, in a weird, abusive, basketball kind of way. The only thing missing, as far as Kagami was beginning to realize, was that he was pretty sure people who were dating did…_things_.

You couldn't grow up in L.A and not know that people did things, and sometimes two guys did things, and sometimes two girls, and apparently somewhere one guy and lots of girls, although Kagami was pretty sure that that didn't happen outside of Utah or porn. But it wasn't as though _things_ seemed to happen that much in Japan, or even to him all that much, given all the focus he preferred to put into basketball. Coach and Captain appeared to spend most of their time together planning for the team. Momoi and Kuroko had declared some kind of cease-fire since they were in-between tournaments, and seemed to be making the most of it.

But _Aomine_.

It boggled the mind.

His phone chimed, and yeah, there was a text message. From Aomine.

_Don't flunk_, it read. Kuroko hadn't ratted him out, then.

_Shut up_, Kagami typed, but half-heartedly. He went on before he lost his nerve. _Next week you'll get your damn croquettes. Come over_.

_Finally_, came the reply. _Don't forget the sauces_. _See you then_.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

"Do you know," said Kagami almost pleasantly, "I didn't know how to make croquettes until two weeks ago? When you said you wanted some but you didn't want them from your teammate and you don't like the way they make them in the family restaurants? I came home and I looked up it up on the internet and I practiced and I got everything ready just so I could cram croquettes down your greedy fucking throat."

Aomine chewed, and swallowed. "Okay," he said. "I can see where this is going. _Kagami_, these are _delicious_. They're the _best I've ever eaten_. _Thank you_." He picked up another one. "Now shut up and stop fishing for compliments."

"I'm not fishing for compliments," said Kagami. "I'm just- do you realize, I have no idea why I'm going to all these lengths for you? Why I am I doing this?"

"Why are you asking me all these questions," whined Aomine plaintively, and Kagami glared at him. He'd spent a lot of time wondering if these were 'sorry I ditched you' croquettes or 'we should bang' croquettes, and then a small amount of time wondering if he wanted to bang Aomine and then an embarrassingly long time realizing just how much he would probably enjoy it. Even now, Kagami had thought about biting the line of Aomine's shoulders as he was shucking his jacket, and maybe a bit about Aomine being strong, maybe stronger than him, and how that would feel against his skin, straining against him.

Aomine just continued eating like an idiot, making little pleased noises low in his throat.

Kagami took a deep breath and summoned all his courage and said "Momoi said something the other day. About you. And me."

"I know this sounds stupid," said Kagami. "But we, we two, you and me, she said we are basically going out."

Aomine speared another croquette. "You're right," he said. "That does sound stupid."

Kagami controlled his urge to punch the bastard and said "We go out at least twice a week."

"Practices are on a downtime," said Aomine. "There aren't any tournaments."

"Yeah," said Kagami, "But that doesn't mean I have to hang out with _you_."

Aomine shrugged. "I wanted to play basketball. Without Tetsu and Kise, that means you."

"I feel so appreciated," said Kagami as sarcastically as he could manage.

"You should," said Aomine. "Besides, going out is like- movies, food. Cute girls."

Kagami waited for the idea to drip through Aomine's stupid head, while he sat in Kagami's house and ate the food Kagami had made for him and had brought magazines which he had that Kagami wanted to read, and then Aomine put down his chopsticks and leaned over the table to stare at Kagami and said "But we're _not_."

"Except we are," said Kagami.

"But who would want to go out with you?" said Aomine, blankly.

"Fine," said Kagami. Wow, that had been easy. Now all he wanted to do was punch Aomine, and all thoughts of biting or embarrassing noises had been banished. "Go get your own damn croquettes."

"Now hold on," Aomine said indignantly. "I thought you made these for me!"

"You've already eaten a ton," pointed out Kagami. "Leave some for me."

Aomine ignored him and took another. "Dating you would be really gay," he said.

Kagami rolled his eyes and didn't bother to say that yes, two guys dating was indeed gay. Damn, these were delicious. He really was good.

Aomine was silent until they'd finished the lot of them, and he was watching Kagami clean up. "Doesn't dating involve… sex?" he said, draped over the coffee table.

"Where is your mind going?" demanded Kagami.

"Kissing," said Aomine, and his dark eyes were fastened on Kagami now, thoughtful, intense.

Kagami felt his face heat up and turned to run water over the pans. "Stop thinking about it," he said.

"I can't stop thinking about it, you're the idiot who brought it up!" said Aomine.

"I didn't bring up making out!" said Kagami.

"YOU JUST DID," yelled Aomine.

"THIS IS STUPID," roared Kagami back at him.

"STOP CALLING ME STUPID," yelled Aomine. "We should just try it," he said, at a more normal volume.

"Try what?" said Kagami.

"Kissing," said Aomine. "Because now I'm thinking about it."

"Does everything in this universe happen just because you want it to?" demanded Kagami.

Aomine shrugged and stood up, one long smooth movement, and dammit now Kagami was thinking about it too, how Aomine was just that dip taller than him, and massive, though he didn't move like it.

"Close your eyes," demanded Aomine.

"This is going to be weird," warned Kagami. "And we won't like it."

"Just fucking do it," said Aomine, and Kagami obeyed.

It was weird…but they liked it a _lot_.

.0.

Inopportunely, the phone rang. Aomine extricated himself, saw 'Momoi' on the screen, and picked it up and growled "What?" before remembering that his contact list said 'Satsuki (Annoying)'.

Peals of girlish laughter greeted him from the other side of the phone.

"Shit," Aomine said, comprehensively.

"You never pick up the other person's phone," said Kagami, hand over his eyes. "That's _basic_."

Momoi's laughter receded and Kuroko said, "Aomine-kun, Kagami-kun. Congratulations."

"What do you mean congratulations? Tetsu, _did you know this would happen_? Tetsu, what haven't you been telling me?"

"Nothing," said Kuroko, accurately, and then passed it back to Momoi.

"I'm glad you two aren't fighting any more, Dai-chan," she said, sweetly.

"We were never fighting," said Kagami.

"For a while I was worried it was going to tear you two apart," she continued blithely.

"I'm hanging up now," said Aomine.

"Okay~"

"You heard nothing," he said.

"You wish," she said. "Good niiii-ight. Don't be late for school tomorrow!"

Aomine ended the call and Kagami said "How does she know everything?"

"She's unbelievably nosy," Aomine said. "Those idiots. I can't believe it. How did they know?"

Kagami stretched out under him, long and slow and lazy, secure in his own skin. "Who else would tolerate you?" he said.

"Bastard," said Aomine without heat, and pressed Kagami into the couch, soft and easy, relaxing into place.


End file.
